By Bill Parry
City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) has decided against running for mayor. The 32-year-old announced on NY1 that he will instead seek re-election representing the 32nd Council District, which covers the Rockaways, Broad Channel, Howard Beach and Ozone Park, where Ulrich was born and raised.
The only Republican elected official currently serving in Queens launched an exploratory committee in May and raised more than $57,000 but opted against challenging Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“I’m not going to be a candidate for mayor this year,” Ulrich said on NY1. “It’s something that I considered for quite sometime now, mulling it over these past few months with my family and my friends and my supporters, and I’ve decided that this would not be the right move for me to make. I believe the people of New York City deserve better than Bill de Blasio, but I will not be a candidate for mayor this year.”
Ulrich has been a frequent critic of the mayor on issues such as the homeless crisis, snow removal in his district and what he alleges is mismanagement of the city’s Build It Back program to assist homeowners, landlords and tenants whose homes were damaged by Hurricane Sandy.
“If you look at his lackluster performance and his inability to bring people together in this city, I think he absolutely can be a one-term mayor,” Ulrich said. “And I think he can be beat.”
De Blasio was cleared of criminal charges in campaign fund-raising probes by federal and state prosecutors last week.
City Hall declined to comment on Ulrich’s decision.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
